Tag Archives: Broadway

BREAKING: The Tony Awards WILL Be Broadcast. WGA Will Not Picket

BREAKING: The Tony Awards WILL Be Broadcast. WGA Will Not Picket.

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Clear the deck and light the lights. The Tony Awards are being broadcast!

Last week we reported that the 2023 Tony Awards, Broadway’s highest honor would not be televised or postponed because of the Writers Guild of America strike. But now The Tony Awards WILL AIR as originally scheduled on June 11th, and WGA has agreed not to picket the broadcast.

The Writers Guild released the following statement:

“The WGA will not be picketing the show. Responsibility for having to make changes to the format of the 2023 Tony Awards rests squarely on the shoulders of Paramount/CBS and their allies. They continue to refuse to negotiate a fair contract for the writers represented by the WGA. As they have stood by us, we stand with our fellow workers on Broadway who are impacted by our strike.”.

It’s not yet been specified what format the show will use, and what alterations will be made.

However, the New York Times newspaper has reported it’s likely that while the event will feature awards presentations and live musical performances, no scripted content will be included.

The Tony Awards are set – at least for now – for Sunday, June 11 at the United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights. Whether Ariana DeBose will remain attached to a scaled-down, non-televised ceremony is unclear.

The union — representing 11,500 writers of film, television and other entertainment forms — has been on strike since May 2, primarily over royalties from streaming media. Although the guild doesn’t represent Broadway writers, it does represent writers who work on the Tonys telecast.

Back2Stonewall stands with the striking workers of the WGA. #UnionStrong

Broadway's LIFE OF PI Wins PETA 'Pony Award'

Broadway’s LIFE OF PI Wins PETA’s First Ever ‘Pony Award’

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PETA has announced that the Broadway production of Life of Pi has won its first-ever Pony Award-the organization’s version of a Tony, honoring the most animal-friendly theater productions.

“The artists behind this beautiful play are proving that you can tell amazing animal stories without forcing vulnerable sentient beings to perform for our entertainment,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA challenges everyone in the entertainment industry to follow their example by bringing animals to the stage and screen through artistry, not exploitation.”
Broadway World

The play earned the award for the Most Innovative Depiction of an Animal in celebration of the undeniable star of the show: a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker  portrayed by a spectacular, lifelike puppet that requires three puppeteers to maneuver.

The Broadway version of “Life of Pi” is based on the movie and novel of the same name and is the story of a young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

 For more information, please visit PETA.org.

Saturday Matinee: WATCH "Carrie: The Musical"- 2012 Off Broadway Revival [Full Show]

Saturday Matinee: WATCH “Carrie: The Musical”- 2012 Off Broadway Revival [Full Show]

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Every threate gay knows about Carrie :The Musical with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore. Adapted from Stephen King‘s 1974 novel Carrie, opened on Broadway in 1988 and for many years was considered the biggest flop in Broadway history.

Despite a stellar cast including Barbara Cook in the UK and Betty Buckley on Broadway the show was over produced and bloated much in thanks to choreographer Debbie Allen and her greek chorus of scantily clad girl students and a disconnection between the book and music itself.

In October 2010, Carrie was confirmed to be produced Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre by MCC Theater. The director is Stafford Arima with the original creators working on revisions of the show. From May 25 through June 7, a developmental lab was held at MCC, directed by Arima and choreographed by Matt Williams] The initial cast for the revival was announced in May 2011.[ From the reading held in 2009, Marin Mazzie starred as Margaret White and Molly Ranson as Carrie. Additional cast was announced on November 21. The score and book were revised by original composers Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford, and writer Lawrence D. Cohen. The songs “Dream On”, “It Hurts to Be Strong”, “Don’t Waste the Moon”, “Heaven”, “I’m Not Alone”, “Wotta Night” and “Out for Blood” were removed and replaced with new songs.

Below is an audience shot video very good in some places. Other’s are a bit messy. But it has been preserved for prosperity and it’s really not bad at all.

Hope you dirtypillows enjoy.

Anti-Semitic Neo-Nazi's Protest Opening of "PARADE' On Broadway

Anti-Semitic Neo-Nazi’s Protest the Opening of “PARADE’ On Broadway

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Anti-Semitic neo-Nazi’s protested the opening of “Parade” a true story about  antisemitism.

Theatergoers making their way into the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to see  the Broadway musical “Parade,” about a notorious anti-Semitic incident of 1915, provoked vile anti-Semitic demonstrations of 2023 outside the theater where the show was having its first preview.

Based on the true story of  Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager in Georgia who was lynched for supposedly raping a 13-year-old girl, theatregoers were greeted by neo-Nazis from the “National Socialist Movement” who shouted that Frank was “a Jewish pedophile” and “Learn the truth about what you’re going to see tonight!” one of them shouted. “Romanticizing pedophiles — wow!”

Continue reading Anti-Semitic Neo-Nazi’s Protest the Opening of “PARADE’ On Broadway →
Gay History - "As Is" by William F. Hoffman: The Forgotten and Earliest AIDS Play of the 1980's - VIDEO

Gay History – “As Is” by William F. Hoffman: The Forgotten and Earliest Play About AIDS [1985]

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AsIs.jpg

Everyone remembers “Longtime Companion”, “The Normal Heart” and “The Band Played On” all very important and powerful works about  AIDS and its effects in the 1980’s.  But “As Is” by William F. Hoffman is a lesser known work but just as powerful and sadly now all but languishes in obscurity.

The original Broadway production of “As Is” opened at the Lyceum Theater in New York on May 1, 1985 after an extended Off-Broardway run and ran for 285 performances. It was nominated for the 1985 Tony Award (New York City) for the Best Play and won the  Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play

As Is focuses on the effect that AIDS, at the time when the outbreak first began and the effect it has on a group of friends living in New York City. It was one of the first plays, and subsequent television films, depicting how the pandemic was affecting LGBT Americans, being produced shortly before Larry Kramer‘s play The Normal Heart was first performed on April 21, 1985.

This play revolves around a gay couple, Saul and Rich, who are in charge of opening up the play, separating. But Rich’s firm resolution is not that decisive, for he returns to Saul’s arms once he contracts AIDS from his new lover. Seeking emotional support, Rich stages how the diseased are treated by the American family, doctors, and friends. 

In In 1986, Hoffman adapted the play for a television production for HBO starring Jonathan Hadary, Robert Carradine, Joanna Mills and Colleen Dewhurst.

It’s nearly impossible today to find a complete copy of the television production but there is a short clip to watch below and the play is available through Amazon.com.

As Is Playbill - Opening Night, May 1985

LOST FOOTAGE – Linzi Hateley Performs The Title Song from CARRIE: The Musical – 1988 Broadway Production – [VIDEO]

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Perhaps the most misunderstood musical theater piece of the 20th century Carrie: The Musical started previews on April 28, 1988, at the Virginia Theatre on Broadway.

Ken Mandelbaum is quoted by Wollman, MacDermot, and Trask:

“Ken Mandelbaum writes of an audience divided during early previews, the curtain calls of which were greeted with a raucous mix of cheers and boos.  However, in an instant, when Linzi Hateley and Betty Buckley rose to take their bows, the entire theatre turned to a standing ovation.”

The show was sold out weeks in advance and did indeed receive standing ovations at some previews, as well as on opening night but that couldn’t save it.

Carrie: The Musical officially opened on May 12, 1988.  Hampered by scathing reviews by professional critics, the financial backers pulled their money out of the show, and it closed on May 15 after only 16 previews and 5 performances, guaranteeing its place in theatre history as one of the most expensive disasters of all time.

It wasn’t that Carrie:The Musical was a bad show.  It was just badly directed, over produced and horribly choreographed (Thank you Debbie Allen.) 

But Carrie: The Musical  wasn’t dead and she would be resurrected and produced Off-Broadway as a limited run show at the Lucille Lortel Theatre by MCC Theater. Marin Mazzie starred as Margaret White and Molly Ranson as Carrie.   Previews on January 31, 2012, and officially opened on March 1, 2012, and closed a month later to good solid reviews.  The MCC directors said: “MCC, the authors, and the director achieved what we all set out to do – to rescue Carrie from oblivion and to give her new life.

Below is “lost footage” of the original Carrie, Linzi Hateley singing the title song from the 1988 Broadway production from an old press video reel with the audio and video cleaned up.

Gay History – August 21, 1983: La Cage aux Folles Opens on Broadway! [Video – Full Show]

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On this day in gay history the musical La Cage aux Folles (Yea Theatre Queens!) with a book by Harvey Fierstein and lyrics and music by Jerry Herman opened on Broadway in 1983.

Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it focuses on a gay couple: Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when Georges’s son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée’s ultra-conservative parents to meet them. La cage aux folles literally means “the cage of mad women”. However, folles is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals (queens).

According to Playbill Radio program director Robert Viagas, La Cage aux Folles predated the widespread “Ellen,” “Will & Grace” and “Queer Eye”-type recognition. “La Cage opened in a time when gays were just starting to be accepted and homosexuality was just starting to be talked about openly,” Viagas said. “A Chorus Line opened the door and then [came] Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy. La Cage took it a step further showing to a general audience that gays could actually form stable, long-term relationships and even raise children. The message of La Cage could be phrased as ‘Honor your mother — even if she’s a man.’ That was a revelation at the time, at least in the mass media.”

The early-season musical would beat out the rest of the year’s competition — including shows like Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s The Rink and David Shire and Richard Maltby, Jr.’s Baby — taking home the top trio of musical prizes for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. Actor Hearn, director Laurents and costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge would bring the show to a topping tally of six awards.

The original production starred George Hearn as Albin and Gene Barry as Georges

Watch the full musical performed by the American Musical Theatre of San Jose starring: Lee Roy Reams, George McDaniel, Ray Reinhardt, and Steven X. Ward below.

Souces: Playbill

 

 

THEATRE BEAT: WATCH - Musical Numbers from Broadway's MCC Fundraiser "Miscast22" - VIDEOS

THEATRE BEAT: WATCH – Musical Numbers from Broadway’s MCC Fundraiser “Miscast22” – VIDEOS

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MCC Theater’s annual Miscast gala is one of the most exciting and unique theater events in town. Broadway’s hottest stars perform songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast. 

MCC Theater’s annual Miscast gala is one of the most exciting and unique theater events in town. Broadway’s hottest stars perform songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast. 

MCC Theater’s Miscast22 was filmed live at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Funds raised from Miscast help MCC Theater produce exciting new work Off-Broadway, provide programs for emerging artists,

Funny Girl Opens On B’way: Who Sang It Better Than Beanie? EVERYONE!- “Don’t Rain On My Parade” [VIDEOS]

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Indina Menzel, Lillias Piro White, Cynthia Erivo and others perform their covers of “Don’t Rain On My Parade”. We will leave Beanie Feldstein’s rendition out of this collection. Poor thing. The reviews have been brutal. But then again it was expected.

WATCH: Patti LuPone Sing “Ladies Who Lunch” from the Broadway Production of COMPANY [VIDEO]

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If you can’t make it to New York City to see the new “gender bending” production of COMPANY starring La Diva’ herself Patti LuPone fear not. You can get a sip of Patti’s potently potable rendition below.

Enjoy, have a double, and please wear a hat.